How do we know its preseason? The Cleveland Browns beat the Green Bay Packers 35-10.
My Name is Legend
In a recent post I suggested that rookie Chandler Jones needed a nickname (stat) and apparently he now has one. Chandler has been dubbed “The Closer” by defensive captain Jerod Mayo which makes the moniker legit. I’m hoping Mayo proves prescient and we see a half dozen games closed out by a 4th down Jones sack of an opposing QB in 2012.
Five for Fighting
Julian Edelman and Niko Koutouvides were sent to the showers for acting like two-year olds at Thursday's practice. Koutouvides is on the bubble (vying with Tracy White, Jeff Tarpinian and Mike Rivera for the coveted 6th linebacker/special teams roster spot) and no doubt was making an attempt to get noticed. Since this kind of thing would likely translate to a 15 yard penalty in game action, I’m not sure this was the best way to do it. Okay, yes I am sure; this was definitely not the best way to do it. How bad is this for Koutouvides? Well, for one thing, I haven’t bothered adding his name to my spellcheck dictionary. I like Tarpinian (already added to spellcheck) and Rivera (young/hungry) over Koutouvides and White.
The Difference between Bad, Good and Great
I don’t want to make too much of the fact that they shut down Drew Brees and the Saints O in a preseason game and I know we’re talking about practice but could the Patriots D be as good as they’ve looked so far in camp? The defense faces a pretty good offense every day in practice and based on the reports I’ve read has been winning the battle pretty consistently. I know – it’s early, a lot can happen, wait till we see them in regular season action, he’s day to day just like everyone else – but I can’t help falling in love with this defense…
Some things are meant to be…
Where was I? Oh, right. Defense. That thing that wins championships.
On paper, the offense looks capable of matching or bettering last season’s performance so I’ve been looking at the Patriots D thinking they only needed to get a little bit better. Like, one or two plays better.
What if they’re significantly better?
It’s Math
According to teamrankings.com, New England’s defense gave up nearly six 3rd down conversions per game in 2011, ranking 25th. If they could reduce that number by one (from 5.7 to 4.7) they would move into the Top 10. In 2011, the defense gave up an average of exactly 6.0 yards per play (ouch!). Could they be just 20% better in 2012? If so, they would move into the Top 5.
It is fun to think about, isn’t it? Regardless, it will be hard to improve on 13-3-0, even with a much improved defense. Because it's just hard to do.
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